Pages

Monday, 17 October 2016

EXPORT BUSINESS EXPERTS SPEAK ON BOOSTING NON-OIL EXPORT IN NIGERIA

For the nation to fast track the development of the
non-oil sector for improved revenue generation, not less than 20 Nigerian
goods are needed to be exported to the United States by the year
2020. These were the submissions of export business experts that gathered recently
at the non oil breakfast workshop organised by the Nigerian American Chambers of Commerce, in collaboration with Fidelity Bank in Lagos.

It is glaring that many exporters
have been defrauded in the process of exporting goods to other countries owing
to the fact that they do not have adequate training on export operations,
export management, export documentations and methods of payment is export
business. The link below is a compilation on all the steps exporters should
follow from the point of packaging the goods they intend to export to the point
of payment. To read it, click:

The export business experts, who argued that
Nigeria has the best services companies in the Sub-Saharan Africa, however,
lamented that credit to non-oil export sector has dipped from N852 billion in
2008 to N122 billion in 2014.

According to them, concerted efforts is needed by government at all levels and
the various regulatory institutions to minimise all bottlenecks and bureaucracy
associated with exportation of finished goods by Nigerian firms especially
the Small and Medium Enterprises to revamp the trend.

Specifically, the Chief Executive Officer of Poize
Capital Global, Comfort Sakoma,
explained that creating enabling environment, strengthening the powers of
export agencies like the Nigerian Export
Promotion Council (NEPC) as well as making sure that there are proper
monitoring and evaluation process in government agencies would bolster trade
export in Nigeria.

She added that exportation of goods and having access to
foreign currency would enable the country to manage the challenges associated
with currency flaunctuations.

In her own words: “We need government to fund organisations so that they are
capable of delivering and achieving result. We need to increase the power given
to these organisations to act, strengthening the powers of agencies, localising
and centralising who handles African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA), making sure
that there are monitoring and evaluation process.

“We
need to get all the necessary stakeholders on board, we need customs to
understand what is going on, and we need them to be enabled not prevented. We
need to make sure that all licensing regulatory bodies are on top of the
conversation, to ensure that they can fast track without cutting corners to
enable people that are looking for exports have the ability to do that.

“Then the shipping company must reduce the cost of
shipping to encourage exporters, making sure that people are not paying
unnecessary costs in shipping to make them competitive abroad. We need to do
everything we can to ensure that we are creating product that will compete in
foreign market.

“Also we need support from the government they should
create enabling environment for trade. Nigeria is not doing well in the AGOA
because everything set up to work against trade. Nigerian entrepreneurs are
resilient, inspire of no support, no infrastructure, no market, no finance,
continue to push forward with hope that one day the hard work will play out. It
is time we rally around entrepreneurs and SMES that their hard work will play
out.”

The Executive Director, Lagos and South West of Fidelity
Bank Plc, Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe,
stressed the need for Nigeria to fast track the process the diversification,
noting that a lot needed to be done in the areas of ECOWAS liberalisation
scheme to facilitate a seamless flow of trade into the sub-Saharan region and
boost export.

She said: “We need to shift from import to export. Nigeria needs to
diversify its revenue base but we have production challenges, which must be
sorted out. It would be difficult for Nigeria to compete in the global space if
Nigeria fails to address the issue of infrastructure because infrastructure
development reduces business operating cost.”

She added that multiple taxation is a major issue that
government must tackle to attract more business and foreign direct investment.

The Acting Managing Director of Nexim bank, Bashi Wali, explained that as part of
efforts to arrest the declining trend in the non oil sector in Nigeria, the
Central Bank of Nigeria recently approved N500 billion export stimulation
facilities, with the bank acting as fund managers. He explained that the
facility would provide liquidity to commercial banks to enable them lend to the
export sector.

According to Wali, the intervention fund would also
attract and incentivize new and additional investment to non-oil sector towards
diversification of the economy and broadening the nation’s export base. He
added that loan request from commercial banks on the new fund scheme currently
stands at N42.67 billion while 21 applications were received for the scheme.
(Guardian)

TECTONO

Tectono Business Review is the most sought after business consultants, researchers and publishers by business tycoons, top politicians, heads of federal parastatals, and top managers of blue-chip companies.